Sadness I Know Well
by beastlySmalless
Summary: Katara and Zuko comfort each other when they learn secrets that further their connection Zutara-ish one-shot


**Hello peeps--**

**this is my first ever fan fic, and it happens to surround my favorite couple in the avatar world that exsists in my mind, I love pairing Katara and Zuko--(they are just right together)**

**Since this is my first time around, I would love any type of feedback!!! I'll take the good the bad and the ugly!! lol **

**This story is set on the episode of the Southern Raiders: Zuko and Katara have just found the man that killed Katara's mother **

**(sorry if anyone seems OC (except the man who killed Katara's mom, I totally changed him on purpose) **

**sorry for any mistakes**

**last order of business: AVATAR IS NOT MINE (sadly) **

**enjoy :)**

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This was the moment Katara had yarned for for the years. Justice. The man who had ruined her life sat before her, under her power. She could finally put a face and name to the hatred she had carried with her. The sky's clouds rumbled threateningly behind the girl as she stared down at the old fire nation man.

Despite the hate that Katara was emitting, or the interrogation that Zuko was putting the man under, after he recognized Katara, the killer had adopted a smug grin. Katara wanted to slap it off. That grin made her sick inside. What did the man have to smile about? Even if he only saw Zuko as a threat, he shouldn't be happy to find himself facing an angry girl whose mother he's killed.

"You've grown up." his voice untroubled and deep, deceitful of his age.

"Shut up you monster, you probably don't even remember me you liar."

"Oh on the contrary little girl, I remember you most distinctly. Mostly because of your mother though. You have the same passionate eyes." The wind whipped up and stung Katara's face. A storm was coming.

"Shut up! Katara, take your justice, this man is nothing but scum." Zuko continued to hold the man down in his sitting position, steam coming from his nostrils threateningly.

"Careful, or you'll ruin it for the girl, little boy. She is the one with the grudge against me after all." The man never sparred a glance for Zuko, keeping his smooth comments, steady gaze, and his annoying smirk directed at Katara. The clouds began to light up in the distance, the loud clash of thunder sounding closer.

"WHY!?! Why did you kill my mother?"

"Because I was told to, didn't your mother ever tell you to always do what your told, or did I kill her before she could impart that wisdom? Silly child, my orders were to kill the last water bender in the south pole, and your mother didn't do much to halt my endeavor."

"What do you mean?"

"Once she saw that there was no hope for survival she begged that i kill her quickly. She groveled at my feet for a painless death."

Tears outlined the rims of Katara's eyes.

"LIAR"

"I am not so dishonorable to lie little girl." his voice was serious, but he seemed to be enjoying himself somehow.

"Therefore I must admit, your cowardly mother's last plea fell on deaf ears." His grin persisted, his tone taking on sick kind of detached quality, Katara's disgust and morbid curiosity kept her from acting.

"I fried her a long time, just to hear her screams, before I despatched any comfort of death." Katara covered her ears from the man's persisting description.  
"NO!" The thunder sounded once more with power that shook the earth.

"Oh yes, I hate to say she died in agony little girl, screaming her pretty little head off until the end. Too bad you ran away from her. You just gave me more time to play. It would have been fun if you had caught me in the act, I would have loved to see _your_ pretty little face as you watched her scream." Katara crumbled to the ground as the memories flooded her mind, his own narrative painting them fresh in horror. With her head in her hands, all she could do was try to block out the man's voice.

"_No, she was a brave woman. She died hero, I am owe her my life. He's lying." _A light drizzle started to rain from the sky.

"Wait" Zuko's voice cut into Katara's despairing thoughts, "Katara, your mother was a water bender?"

"No"

"Then, why did you kill her, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU! WHY DID YOU KILL THAT WOMAN IF YOU LOOKING FOR WATER BENDERS?" Zuko's shout was augmented with fire blasts coming close to the man.

"There is no need to shout boy. I killed that woman because she said she was the last water bender. She told me so herself. Are you calling me a liar once more?" Katara looked through her tears, the realization hitting her.

"She died because of me."

"Katara it was this man's fault not yours, now take your justice!"

"You killed her for no reason." Katara whispered into the ground. She was on her hands and knees, the rain picking up speed and drenching her back.

"She wasn't the last water bender at all. She was protecting me. She died because of me." The sick revelation went right to Katara's heart. Her grief was rekindled, she closed in on herself and wept, the anger that had fueled her for the last few days sapped her of any energy to try resist the emotional pain.

Lightening burst through the sky. The man continued smiling at Katara as she wept. Zuko took in the weeping Katara ad found a hatred for the man grow in him. Zuko turned to look at the man again and found a devilish grin adorning his face. Zuko's fury rose. He ran and pumped his fist as hard as he could into the man's face. The man was flew backwards and landed in a pile against a wall. Zuko came at him again in blind fury, his fist aflame.

"I will take him out of this world for you Katara"

"I remember you as well little boy, I couldn't soon forget your mother." Zuko was caught inches away from the man's face frozen by his words.

"What did you say?" Taking him by the his collar, Zuko dragged the man up to put him face to face.

"Oh, the fire nation found use for my talents in another mother's case. Yours in fact. I remember it well, not everyday I get to overpower a member of the royal family."

"Do you know where my mother is?"

"Of course boy, I told you I remember it well, she went fighting, but not before she could say goodbye to her son. This is where I recognize you, you see. I had to practically drag her from your room little boy. I think once she struggled too much I just pulled her by her hair..."

"WHERE IS SHE NOW YOU MONSTER! TELL ME!"

"Oh I made sure she had a grand exit from this world."

"JUST TELL ME." The storm was in at its height, the rain pouring from the sky, and thunder becoming deafening.

"Silly boy, I killed the traitor, per my instructions. But of course being of nobel blood, I couldn't very well be too cruel and unnecessarily with her death. A traitor she may have been, but her royal blood was not spilt. She was very flammable."

The grin that began to cross the man's face again was interrupted by Zuko's fist. Zuko let his anger reign down on the man. Punch after punch, until the man's face was almost completely red. As Zuko pulled his arm back once more to further ruin the man's face, he felt a soft but firm hand on his arm. He found a steely faced Katara behind him. Katara had re-discovered her purpose. Her drive to kill this man burned within her, it pushed all sense, all other thoughts from her mind, making her body work again.

"Zuko, this man will die by both our hands. He will feel the pain he has caused us and our loved ones, ten times over."

Katara's face and tone made Zuko get up and prepare to end the life of this source of so much pain. Katara looked straight into the eyes of the monster. She wanted to see pain dance in them before the light faded from behind.

Looking into the killer's eyes, she started at him with her water whip, trying to force a reaction from him before she got too angry and killed him. But by third and fourth hit, and even with Zuko's continued punches and flame, the man's eyes remained the same.

Katara's realized why his eyes disturbed her so much, why his smile made her hate him. There was no light behind the man's eyes. He was obviously alive, but the spirit that can be seen through one's eyes was completely absent from this man's. Katara stopped her assault on the man.

"Zuko, he has no soul."

"Katara, if you don't have it in you to kill him soon, I will..."

"No, listen Zuko, we can't kill him."

"WHAT!?! What the hell, this man is evil, he has every right to die! You said it yourself." And with a flame fueled with anger, Zuko started to try to roast the man. Lightening split the sky.

Katara extinguished the flame that would have put out the man's life.

"Zuko, nothing we could do to this man would ever help us, it would only make us more like him. He would win. He would have made sure there was more evil in the world. He has no soul Zuko, there is nothing we could do to him to ever make him feel pain. The best thing we could do is to let him live out his life alone and joylessly. He is nothing."

"Hell Katara, I'll kill him if you don't want to."

"No, Zuko, we have to walk away."

"WHAT?!? NO, I'm finishing it!" But Katara's hand reached out and held onto Zuko's shoulder once more. She could feel his resistance. She tried to pull him softly towards Appa.

"Please, he's not worth it Zuko." The rain was cold and persistent.

Zuko shot one last glare at the now broken man, trying to smother him with his hatred, trying to make him feel his pain, and turned on his heel. Katara followed without sparing the man another look.

Not long after they had taken off the ground, Zuko took the reins and steered them towards a beach, the storm wasn't as violent, but still the rain poured on the dejected faces of the two benders.

"Why are we stopping Zuko?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME KILL HIM? The man killed my mother! He's evil Katara, he doesn't deserve to breathe!"

"You know I know how you feel Zuko."

"Oh, are you going to cry again than? Instead of making the world right and killing that thing!" Zuko stomped off and out of view to the other side of the rock face that they had landed by. Katara was left fuming. She clenched her fists. She closed her eyes. She took all her frustration, her hatred, her anger and felt it corse through her being. All the water around her reacted to her summons. Then, in an explosion, she threw everything she had at the huge rocks sitting before her. She felt the water leave her hands. She opened her eyes. The intimidatingly big rocks that had once taken up most of the beach were now completely gone. She had destroyed so much in her anger. She sighed, felt the rain wash her face, and then she set off to find Zuko.

Zuko's emotions made him easy enough to find. He took refuge in his bending. His anger was palpable, his fire tearing through the rain. His golden eyes reflected his element perfectly, Zuko seeming to become one with the heat he furiously expelled. Katara watched in awe as Zuko took another powerful position and let fire burst forth from his mouth, his scream ringing in her ears, the sound made of pure emotion. The flame seemed to take with it any resistance in Zuko's body. He fell to his knees staring into the rain. With the last amount of physical energy, Zuko slammed his fists into the sand, and held his head.

Katara stayed where she was, feeling weak at the sight of someone who she only ever saw as strong break down so completely. She felt wrong, intrusive on his pain. But just as she was about to leave, the most heart wrenching sound met her ears. Zuko's tear's could be heard over the storm. His anguish took up the space around Katara and she felt herself running to his side.

Zuko, too lost in his own sorrow, hardly noticed Katara's presence. Katara could not imagine words that could do any good, all she could do was be there for him, and so she reached out to him, taking his shoulder trying to make him look her in the face. At Katara's touch, Zuko hardly looked at her before embracing her fully. He didn't realize that he needed someone there, but now that he held her in his arms, all he could do was cry.

Katara's surprise at Zuko's reaction to her was immediately replaced with sadness and compassion as the boy wept into her shoulder. She held him tight to her. His tears melted into her already soaked shirt. Zuko's sobs broke Katara's heart, she wanted to protect him from this pain, the anguish she knew too well. She hated his suffering. As she felt the boy tremble in her arms, she held back tears, looking up at the sky for some strength, trying to will herself to hold it together for both their sakes.

Night was falling, and Zuko was too weary to cry any more. All either bender could manage was to continue holding each other. As long as they had someone there.

And under the stars, under the blessing of Yue's bright night's light, the two slept side by side.

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**okay review etc. PLEASE!!!!**

**This little story was inspired by a beautiful picture I found on deviantart called "Zutara- Sadness and Sorrow" from *GreenifyME (link below, check out the picture it is actually emotionally moving) **

**K, thats about all!!! hope you liked it!**

.com/art/Zutara-Sadness-and-Sorrow-89291525


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